Improvement in boot and shoe tacking machines



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Gf. McKAY.

BOOT .AND SHOE TACKING-MACHINE. No.177,264. Patented May 9,1876.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. McKAY. BOOT AND SHOE 'PACKING-MACHINE. No.177,264. Patented May9,1876.

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v G. MCKAY. BOOT AND SHOE TACKING-MACI'IINE. No. 177,264. PatentedMay9,18'76.

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UNITED-:STATES Parana g @Enron GORDONv MCKAY, OF CAMBRIDGE,MASSACHUSETTS.

lIMPRGVEMENT IN BOTANDSHOE TACKING MACHINES.

Speciticationrforming part of Letters Patent No. 177,264, dated May 9,1876; application ti'lejd February 7, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GORDON MOKAY, of Cambridge, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an ImprovedTacking-Machine for Boots and Shoes, of which the following is aspecification:

This invention relates to a machine for tacking the outer soles of bootsand shoes to the insoles and uppers held on a last, this operation beingpart of the lasting process, in order to confine the outer soles invproper position for the lasted shoe to be removed from or with the lastto, and toy be sewed, nailed, pegged, or screwed on, any well-knownmachine used for uniting soles and uppers in the manufacture of bootsand shoes.

This machine operates on comb-like strips of nails or tacks, and isshown as adapted to feed to the driver strips of different widths, andeither strip may be fed, as desired.

The strip-feeding devices act to engage a nail and move it directly intothe passage or .guideway in which the driver operates, and

tacking-machine with the driver-bar elevated.

Fig. 2 is a siderview of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is also a side view of thecutters, feeding devices, and driving-bar, showing the toggle as'trippedin order to permit the driver-sprin g to depress the driver-bar and thelocking devices, and, with the stripguide, isr shown in section. Fig. 1is a top or plan view ofthe cutters and feeding devices and nail-strips.Fig. 5 represents a partial view of one set of the cutters, removed andenlarged. Fig. 6 represents a horizontal section through the cutters,showing the feeding devices as engaging the teeth of the nail-strip.Fig. 7 represents a detail side view of the cutter-operating wedge andthe upper portions of the cutter-levers, and Fig. 8 represents thenail-strip used in the machine.

The frame a of the machine is shaped as shown, or so as vto properlysupport the working parts, the flanged base b receiving suitable boltsto confine the frame to a suitable support, and to permit the workingparts to overhang the support or project, so as to afford space for thepresentation of a boot or shoe. The main or driven shaft c of themachine is provided. with a loose pulley, d, and at the side of it, faston the shaft, is a friction cone or pulley, e, adapted to t into thehollow or conical face of the loose pulley, the fast pulley being keyedso as to slide on the shaft, under the control of a foot-lever, (notshown,) connected with one end of a pivoted lever, f, attached-to asecond lever, g, connected at top through a collar with anannularly-grooved portion of the sleeve of -the loose pulley, thisconnection permitting the machine to be stopped or started at will. Thisshaft c also carries two eccentrics, each connected by means of anadjustable link, h, with a radiusbar, t', pivoted at 2, attached at itsouter endA with the lower member j ofa toggle-joint, the upper member kbeing pivoted on`a crosshead, Z., attached to the nail -or tack driverrod m, guided at its lower end in a guide, n, the upper end of thedriver-rod extending into the tubular sleeve o, connected with frame a,and containing the usual spring Lz, or springs, to operate thedriver-rod, the driver-operating spring or springs being compressed bythe ascent of the driver under the action of the eccentrics, links,radius-bars, and toggle-jointed arms, and when the driver-rod iscompleting its ascent the rounded or inclined portions of the projectingends p of the lower members j of the vtoggle-arms (see Fig. 3) meet andpass tripping springs or catches q, that yield, for the toggles cannotbe sprung backward, because ofthe projections r,- but as the driverbaris descending under the. action of the spring l2, (see dotted lines,Fig. 1,) the ends p again strike the tripping-springs, and. at thistimev the toggles are sprung, and the spring in the sleeve, acting atone end on the driver or a'collar thereon, is allowed to act suddenlyand in advance of the action of the eccentric, and throws the `driverdown quickly, the toggles assumingkhe position shown in Fig. 3, and theradius-bars t', in their descent, straighten the toggles, preparatory toagain lifting the driver. The force of the spring in the driver isregulated by the screw s. Attached to the cross-head l arecutter-actuating wedgest (see Figs. l and 7) and feedingwedges u. Adetachable frame, t, held on the frame a by bolts w, one only beingshown in Fig. 2, supports the cutters and strip feeding and supportingdevices.

There are two sets of cutters, each composed of levers a1 b1, pivoted atclon frame c. Their lower ends are provided with blades or cntting-edgesd1 el, made adjustable in any wellknown way, and one of the blades,preferably the blade el, (see Fig. 5,) is provided with a notch, j", topermit the passage of the end of the feeder g1, provided, as shown inFig. 6, with either a lip, h1, or a shoulder, t', placed at or quitenearthe outer or free end of the feeder, and adapted to engage the sideof one nail of a strip and move it into a lateral opening or slot formedin the driver-guideway above the nail-tubej, the driver, attached, asusual, to theend ofthe driver-rod, operating, as usual, to drive thenail from such tube j', and with such a feeder, denominated as thenail-en,ga-gingfeeder,` by reason of its fork or shoulder being adaptedto engage the edge of or about a nail, I am enabled to present the lastas well as each nail of the strip to the driver, and into the nail-tubeor foot; vand when the nail is moved into the nail-passage,'V

and in line with the driver, the cutters are closed by the action of thewedges t holding and severing the nail, and while the nail is held thefeeder is moved 'to its backward position, and engages a new or adifferent nail in order to be ready for a new forward movement, eachnail in this way being engaged and moved forward by the feeder. Thelevers k', that carry the nail-engaging feeders, are pivoted on a stud,l', attached to the frame fv. Each feederlever is connected with aspring, m', to impart to the feeder its feeding action to move the stripforward, and a spring, fn', shown as connected with a stud, o', on thenail-carrying feeder, keeps the free end of such feeder in engagementwith a nail of the nail-strip. Each lever k is operated to move thefeeder backward over the nail-strip by means of the wed ges a, that acton a horizontalprojection at the upper end of the lever, the feeder,when moved by the lever away from the cutters then holding the strip,engaging a new tooth of the strip, and the spring m is strained ready tomove the feeder and strip when permitted so to do; but the nail-stripcannot be again moved toward and into the nail-tube until thecutterblades, against which the next nail to be driven from that stripthen rests, are aga-in opened by the action of a suitable spring (seep1) connecting the levers a1 b1, and these cutters can be opened onlywhen the driverrod is elevated suiciently to permit the upper ends oflthe levers to come opposite the depressed portions q of the wedgest,'Fig. 7.

In practice, nail-strips of different widths` are used, either beingmoved forward and severed, as desired, or as the thickness ot' the stockdemands, by means of its feeder and cutters, the feeders and cutters foreach strip, and the mechanism for operating them, being alike. Only onestrip is moved and cut at the same time; but I may cause `the feed andcutters to operate on either strip, as desired, with out stopping themachine.

It has already been premised that each feeder, struck by its wedge, isthrown back ward to engage and holda new portion ot' the strip and pressit toward the cutter and nailtube; but that the nail at the end of thestrip, and next to'be cut when the strip is to be used, cannot pass intothe driver-passage or nail-tube so long as the closed cutters, againstwhich the endnail rests, prevent the forward movement of the feeder andstrip under the action of the spring m; and. therefore, if the cuttersholding such strip are not opened, the nail-strip so held cannot moveforward. I have, therefore, provided a cutter-locking device, composed,in this instance, of a hooked link, r', pivoted at one end to one lever,al, provided with a hook to engage a pin, 1 on lever vbl, and connectedat its outer end with the projecting end of a shifting lever, s',lpivoted at t on a stud projecting from the guide n, and by shiftingthis lever s the link r may be made to keep the cutters closed, the linkin engagement with pin 1 preventing the spring p' from acting when thewedges t are elevated, and when one pair of cutters is held closed, thefeeding-lever 7c', adapted to `operate in connection with it, being`already held back, by reason of the feeder` then engaging a tooth, willnot be moved again by the wedgeu, but will remain ready to project intothe nail-tube the nail engaged by it and pressed against a closedcutter, when such cutter shall again be opened. This` action isillustrated. in Fig. 6, wherein the feeder g1 at the left of the figureis shown as having projected into the driverpassage a nail yet attachedto the strip,and the nail so presented will next be severed from thestrip by the action of the cutterblades el dl at that side 5 but,preferably, the nail will not be cut completely oft' until the feeder ismoved back far enoughto cause its shoulder i to engage a new nail, andwhen the cutters have separated the nail from the strip the feeder willengage a nail next outside of the cutter, as shown at the right in Fig.6,

and with each feeder engaging a nail, as represented by the 'feeder atthe right ot Fig. 6, either nail-strip may be moved forward and have oneof its nails cut and driven, it only being necessary to open the cuttersand remove the blades from the end of the strip to be driven. 3 e

The shifting-lever will not permit both cutters and feeders to beoperated at the same time, or at one reciprocation of the driver. Aspring, u', connected with the radius-bar t' and toggle-memberj, closesor straightens the toggle at each descent of the radius-bar, and thelength of the` stroke or upward motion of the driver may be regulatedthrough the adjusting sleeve-nut 'u' and slot w', in which an adjustablepin carried by link l1. enters,the pinat its inner end being providedWith a 177,264 i i s head, x', between .which and an anti-frictionroller a2 on the pin the radius-bar is held, a nut, b2, being providedto draw the pin horizontally, to confine the radius-bar and linktogether. The strip-guide c2 is provided with an adjustable rest-plate,cl2, to support the points of and to adapt the guide to strips ofdifferent widths, the plate being held by adjusting-screws e2, a flange,f2, and lips g2, conf trolling the upper edge of the strip, andpreventing it from getting out laterally from the guide-way. The extentof the feeding action of the engaging-feeder is regulated by the adjusting-screw h2. A shoe properly lasted, and with the outsole applied,is supported on a jack, or last, or other support common to shoes whenlasting or uniting soles to uppers, and in such condition the shoe andsole are moved under the tube j', in any suitable way, and the nails ortacks are driven into the sole to attach it to the insole, completingthe lasting operation, and preparing the shoe to be removed to themachine adapted to permanently attach the sole to the upper. The machinemaybe used to drive nails directly7 into the upper drawn over theinsole, instead of into the outsole, and some of the devices and novelcombinations of parts may be found of value in regular nailing orheeling machines.

It is not absolutely necessary to employ bothl sets of cutters andfeeders, and on some machines I may employ one set only, and in anordinary nailing-machine an engaging-feeder will be of utility to feedthe last nail.

The Figs. et to 6'show the feeders engaging the nail-strips, each stripbeing fed into the passage above the nail-tube from opposite directions, the cutter-blades acting to close that side of the passageopposite the end of the strip being acted on.

In nailing machines, as ordinarily constructed, and using a pawl to feedthe stripeither a wire or a flat strip-it is customary to employ adetaining-pawl to prevent retrograde movement of the strip, as thefeeding-pawl is moved backward; but in this machine a detaining-pawl isunnecessary, for the cutters hold the strip during the backward motionof the feeding device-a pawl or other suitable griping device, accordingto the particular form,of,strip used. A

Referring to Fig. 7, when the upper ends of levers al b1 are oppositethe part 2l of wedge t the cutters are open;- when opposite the portions22 the cutters are partially closed to grasp the strip, the feedingdevice' then moving back, and when opposite thc portions 23 the cuttersare completely closed.

I claim- 1. rlwo guideways and a guide in which the driver works,provided with separate passages for the introduction of nails, incombination with a feeder to feed and cutters lto sever a nail fromeither strip at will, -substantially as described.

2. A cutter provided with a notched blade, in combination with anail-engaging feeder, adapted to enter the notch in the cutter, and toplace the nail to be driven directly into the path of the driver,substantially as described.

3. The cutters al b1, in combination with the cutter -locking devices,substantially as described.

4. The pivoted shifting-lever, combined with and adapted to operate thelinks r" alternately.

5. The cutters al b1, and mechanism to lock them when closed, to preventthe passage of the nail-strip, 'in combination with an engaging-feederand spring adapted to hold the end of the nail-strip pressed against thecutter blade or blades, substantially as described.

6. The driver-rod and cross-head, in combination with the cutters andfeed-actuating wedges attached to and adapted to move with thecross-head.

7. Two strip-guides, two feeding devices, tWo sets of cutters, and anail-driver, and mechanism to operate them, substantially as described,in combination with a locking device to lock either set of cutters, andsuspend the acl-ion of the feeder' adapted to presentthe nail-strip tosuch cutters, to bring the desired nail-strip into operation, allsubstantially as described.

8. The combination, with cutters adapted to engage and hold, and then tosever a nail from a strip, of a feeding mechanism adapted to be movedbackward to re-engage the strip during the time the cutters hold thestrip, substantially as described.

9. The driver-rod, its connected toggle, a lever and mechanism tooperate the lever to raise the driver, in combination with a springadapted Ato be compressed as the driver is raised, and then to forcedown thel driver, and with a tripping device to trip the toggle as thedriver descends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed .my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

^ GORDON MGKAY.

Witnesses G. W. GREGORY, W. J. PRATT.

